Vengeful, formerly Kyuubi Revealed
by Dreamer of Darkness
Summary: Naruto leaves Konoha after vowing to destroy it.On his journey he will meet many different people,new and old, and make many decisions he never expected to face. Follow him as he reveals his true self and becomes the person he was meant to be in Vengeful.
1. Leaving Konoha

**I'm looking for a beta to help continue this story. They should be able to help me stay focused on the plot and avoid any plot holes while checking for typos and grammar/spelling mistakes. They should have some experience as a beta reader.**

**songs to listen to while reading****: **

_**In The End -Linkin Park**_

_**Stop Looking/Start Seeing -Papa Roach**_

_**Me Against The World -Simple Plan**_

_**Thank You –Simple Plan**_

_**Papercut –Linkin Park**_

**i don't own naruto or the above songs.**

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He ran through the streets, crystal tears streaming from his shockingly blue eyes. Eyes that once were so full of happiness, but now were filled with nothing but sorrow and pain._" Why? Why can't they understand? I thought they were my friends .I guess a demon like me can't have friends." _He increased his speed when he saw the towering form of the village gates looming ahead. _"Almost there"_, he thought with a satisfied grin. As he neared them, the memory of what had happened played itself over and over again in his head, like a broken record.

**Begin Flashback**

**Three days ago**

**Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were walking through the forest, on their way back to Kohona after a long and difficult mission.**

"**That was one of the hardest missions I think we've ever had. The first thing I'm going to do when I get back home is take a long, hot shower. Hey, do you want to go do something later, Sasuke? ", Sakura asked.**

"**No.", said the raven-haired Uchiha.**

"**Oh. O.k.", said the depressed kunoichi, looking slightly crestfallen.**

**Surprisingly, Naruto didn't ask her out after she was rejected by Sasuke. Both Sakura and Sasuke looked back to make sure Naruto was still with them.**

"**Is something wrong, Naruto? You've been awfully quiet today." Sakura said, worried about her teammate. **

"**Nani? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just tired today, that's all." Naruto stated.**

"**O.k." , said an unconvinced Sakura.**

"_**If only they knew the truth."**_** Naruto thought sadly.**

**The real reason he had been quiet all day had nothing to do with him being tired, although he hadn't slept for more than an hour at a time for the past four months. No, the real reason was much more terrifying and much more dangerous. The truth was the seal holding Kyuubi back was beginning to weaken. It took every ounce of strength he had to keep Kyuubi under control. He had been living in constant fear that Kyuubi would take him over, which was why he didn't sleep. **

**He had told no one for fear that they would prevent him from going on missions and keep him trapped in the village. All day he had been thinking of ways to solve the problem without having to tell anybody. Although no one knew it, Naruto was a genius. Maybe even smarter than Shikamaru. He was also much more powerful than anybody knew. He was one of, if not the, strongest ninja ever to live. He told no one because he received more attention as an idiot than as a genius. He focused all of his considerable brain power on the Kyuubi problem, yet he couldn't think of a solution. **

"_**There has to be a way." **_**Naruto thought determinedly. **_**"I will not let this damn fox win."**_

**Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes and 9 kunai flew towards the young leaf nins. They expertly dodged the projectiles and sent kunai of their own to where the enemy was hidden. Three grass nin came out of the bushes. **

"**Well, it looks like we're actually gonna have to fight these brats. ", said the one in front, who appeared to be the leader. "Oh, well. That will just make this more interesting."**

**And so they began fighting, Naruto taking great care not to get too into the fight. It wouldn't take much to free Kyuubi. He was keeping Kyuubi under control until Sakura was hit in the back with multiple kunai. His blood began to boil at the sight of his injured comrade. He tried to keep Kyuubi contained, but it was futile and in the end he lost.**

**Red swirls of chakra twisted around his slender form, and when he looked up, his eyes were no longer the beautiful cerulean they normally were, but a deep crimson. Gone was the carefree joy that had caused them to shine with an inner light that made them appear as deep and beautiful as the ocean itself. Instead, his eyes were full of malice and bloodlust as they looked upon the terrified grass nins.**

"_**His eyes are just like a demon's!"**_** thought the leader of the small group.**

"**Perfect. I can break in this new body by killing you three pathetic excuses for human beings. I wonder if you'll beg like cowards to live, or stand and die like true ninja. I'll bet on the latter. I'll fight **_**you**_**when I'm done with these weaklings." he said, shooting a glance at Sasuke, who stood frozen and watched as this…this **_**thing**_** ripped the grass nins to pieces before his eyes.**

**Once the grass nins were defeated, Kyuubi turned to Sasuke and started walking towards him. All of a sudden, Kyuubi paused in mid-step and grabbed his head, yelling, "No… not so soon. This is… impossible. How could he fight back like this?" His eyes turned a violent shade of purple, and started flashing between blue and violet. Eventually, they turned back to the ocean blue they normally were. Then, before Sasuke could reach him, Naruto started falling. The last thing he heard was Sasuke yelling something he couldn't understand, then Naruto finally surrendered to the darkness that was waiting to embrace him.**

**End Flashback**

"_I still can't believe that I managed to force Kyuubi back." _thought Naruto as he ran from rooftop to rooftop, ignoring the complaints of those whose homes he was running on. He had long ago learned to tune out the voices of those he didn't want to listen to. It wasn't just because of the villagers that he did this. What no one knew was that Kyuubi could talk to Naruto whenever he wanted. All his childhood, Naruto had been teased by those around him, but nothing compared to the things the nine-tailed-fox had said to him.

"You're pathetic. You let these villagers step all over you. You should kill them. Or better yet, kill yourself. Or are you too much of a coward?"

"One of these days I _will_ take over your body, and murder all these pathetic, little bastards"

"You want nothing more than to be free of me. But that will never happen. I'll always be here and the villagers will always hate you."

"As long as I'm here, you will feel nothing but hatred, fear, sorrow, and pain."

His taunts had been the worst. Whenever he had to, Naruto could run away from the villagers, but he couldn't run away from Kyuubi. Even when he tuned Kyuubi's voice out, the demon would enter his dreams and torture him with images of the village destroyed, those he cared about lying on the ground, dead or dieing. He would wake up to the sound of Kyuubi's laughter. "You will never be free of me, " Kyuubi would say cruelly.

But Naruto had kept it secret, bearing his heavy burden alone. _"Until today that is," _Naruto thought glumly, _"Today everything went wrong."_

**Begin Flashback**

**Earlier Today**

**Naruto opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the intense lights. He looked up and found himself staring at a plain, white ceiling. He recognized it immediately. After all, he had spent most of his childhood in the hospital, whether from training too hard or being beaten up by the villagers. The doctors never wanted to help him, only doing so because they had sworn an oath to help any patient who needed it. The door opened and the next thing he knew, he was being suffocated by a mass of bright pink hair.**

"**Hello, Sakura. I'm glad to see you, too." Naruto said, laughing. "How did you do?" he asked Sasuke, who was standing next to the bed, looking bored as always.**

"**I just had a few cuts and bruises. Nothing serious." He said simply.**

**For the second time in a minute, the door was flung open as in walked Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Hinata, Kiba & Akamaru, Neji, Lee, Ten Ten, and their senseis, including Kakashi. Everyone asked Naruto how he was and they had fun just talking for a little while. They very rarely had a chance to get everyone together like this and just hang out. But all good things must come to an end.**

"**Naruto…"said Sasuke.**

"**Hai?" answered Naruto.**

"**I was wondering what happened back in the forest. What was that red chakra? It felt different. Stronger. More intense." said Sasuke, looking at Naruto. Everyone had heard what had happened in the forest, and were now looking at Naruto expectantly, waiting for an answer.**

"**Well…You see…ughhh. I'm not sure I can tell anyone." Naruto replied, not looking anyone in the eyes.**

"**Come on. Just tell us already!" exclaimed Kiba.**

"**Yeah. I mean, we're your friends, right? You can tell us." said Shikamaru. **

"**O.k. You all know about the Nine-Tailed Fox, right? Well, when it attacked…" and so Naruto explained to them about the Kyuubi being inside him and the seal weakening. The entire time he was hoping that they wouldn't hate him for it like the villagers. When he finished he looked up from the sheets he had been staring at the entire time. What he saw was 11 horror-stricken faces. Even Hinata looked revolted, and when he reached out his hand towards her, she backed away in disgust. **

"**You're the demon?!" shouted Sakura. "Kyuubi killed my parents. I'll kill you!" she screamed as she lunged at Naruto, only to be caught by Kakashi. **

**The senseis ushered the young nins out of the room, giving Naruto sad looks as they did so. They understood what the Yondaime's intentions had been. He had wanted Naruto be a seen as a hero, but he was regarded as a demon, a monster. They also knew how much pain Naruto had gone through as a child, how cruel everybody had been, still was for that matter. They realized that Naruto had just lost everyone close to him because he had trusted them. **

**After they left, Naruto stared out the bed for a few minutes, thinking about what had just happened.**

"_**I thought I could trust them, but they're just like everyone else. No one understands what I've gone through. They look at me and see Kyuubi, not Uzumaki Naruto. Fine. If they won't accept me then I'll just leave. From now on I'll trust no one but myself. " **_**Naruto thought angrily. **

**He had come to a decision. He would leave Konoha. There was no reason for him to stay here. Everyone hated him. He quickly gathered a few necessities from his apartment and stuffed them in his backpack. On his way home he had bought a new outfit that consisted of black jeans with a black t-shirt and a black hooded jacket. He had burned his orange outfit, thinking **_**"I'm done pretending to be happy for people that don't even care about me. From now on I'll act how **__**I**__** want to act without worrying what others think or about taking care of them. I can show my true strength and destroy those who stand in my way." **_**He had then slipped out of his window unnoticed by anyone on the street. He started moving towards the gates.**

**End Flashback**

As he finally reached the gates, he stopped and turned to look at the Hokage faces carved into the mountain. To him, they looked like giant sentinels, watching over the village even after they had left this world. "_Maybe you should have watched over me a little better." _He thought bitterly. He looked at the carving of the Fourth Hokage. "_You. You're the one that caused all this. The one that destroyed my life the moment I was born. To think. My one dream in life has always been to be the next Hokage and outshine every Hokage before me. Now, I don't give a shit about this village or anyone in it. I plan to use my power to destroy this village."_

He turned away from the mountain and walked over to the gate, then pushed it open. Taking a deep breath, he walked through the gates, knowing that he was officially a missing nin, and that the next time he saw this village it would be in pieces.


	2. Deja Vu

**_I know it's short but the next update will be in a few days. Less than a week most ilkely. I still need a beta for this story if anyone wants to volunteer. Just let me know in a review or pm. No song this chapter because i'm in a huge hurry. I still have to get readyfor homecoming tonight.Later, DOD_**

The remainder of the Konoha 12 stood in Tsunade's office. They had been summoned there for no apparent reason. The senseis knew but they weren't saying anything. They waited patiently until Tsunade entered the room and sat down at her desk.

"I see you all came. I'm betting you would like to know what's going on." They all nodded. "Well, first off I should tell you that we have a new missing-nin on our hands."

"Wait. What does that have to do with us?" asked a confused Sakura. "We're not hunter-nin."

" It involves you because this particular missing-nin goes by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. He ran from the village yesterday. I was told by your senseis about your reactions to Kyuubi and I believe that's what pushed him over the edge."

11 faces looked down guiltily at the reminder of their mistake. They had realized how wrong their actions were and wanted to make it up to Naruto. Now they wouldn't have the chance. Finally Tsunade spoke.

"I didn't call you here just to tell you that. I also called to tell you more about Naruto's childhood and his relationship with Kyuubi."

--

Miles away, Naruto had just woken up in his hotel room. He had reached the border of Hi no Kuni late last night and quickly rented a room. Then he crashed on the bed. Fortunately his sleep was dreamless. For that he was grateful.

He went downstairs where he got breakfast from the buffet. After a full meal he decided to wander around the village. He looked at the different stalls as the village appeared to be in the middle of a festival. He didn't know what it was for but he didn't really care. He figured he would find out soon enough.

He bought a kitsune mask but decided not to buy anything else. He needed to save his money. He bought some ramen at a stand before heading back to his hotel room. Halfway there he noticed a chakra signature that was following him. It was familiar but he couldn't place it.

Finally he reached his room and stood just inside with the door closed. He knew the person would be there son and they were powerful to give him a challenge. He quickly packed, forming a clone to hide his absence. He masked his chakra and left through the window. He ran into the nearby forest and quickly disappeared into the foliage.

--

Itachi Uchiha was having a good day. First he was allowed to sleep in for the first time in years. Then he woke to find that Kisame had left him alone for the day and gone off in search of women. To top it all off he had found the Kyuubi vessel. He followed him to a nondescript hotel and knocked on the door.

Itachi felt a strange sense of déjà vu as the door was opened by a man in black with familiar whisker marks. He had changed since Itachi had seen him 6 years ago. He was taller, more mature looking. His face had lost all baby fat and his hair was more tame, pulled back in a small ponytail. The most shocking change however was that he wasn't wearing a stitch of orange. He wore all black, a color much more suitable for a ninja in Itachi's opinion. His headband was around his neck with a slash through it.

Itachi was shocked, to say the least. Naruto Uzumaki had certainly changed. He was even a missing-nin. Itachi hid his surprise well and kept his face expressionless.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. I see you've changed since we first met."

"I've grown up. I'm a different person now."

"Obviously. But I'm afraid you'll have to come with me now."

Naruto grinned and the next thing Itachi knew he was doubled over gasping for breath. He hadn't even seen Naruto move, not even with his Sharingan. Naruto was standing in front of Itachi with his fist still in Itachi's stomach. He whispered into Itachi's ear, "You should already know I won't go down without a fight. And neither will Kyuubi."

Itachi jumped away and Naruto just stood there smiling. Itachi disappeared in a puff of smoke and Naruto followed suit soon after.

--

Meanwhile, the real Naruto was miles away from the hotel. He had finally decided to keep heading in the same direction until he reached Nami no Kuni. There he could at least find temporary shelter. He paused in tree jumping when he fest his clone dismiss itself. He cursed when he realized it had been Itachi Uchiha chasing him. He didn't need the Akatsuki after him too. He cheered up slightly when he saw the sock on Itachi's face as the clone punched him.

Naruto began to run again and when night began to fall he had made it to the Great Naruto Bridge. He was glad to se that the Land of Waves was more prosperous than it had been years ago. There were no starving children in the street. No one was looking to steal from anyone else and the stores were full. He made his way towards where Tazuna's house was located. He knocked on the door and a female voice bid him enter. He opened the door to see Tsunami standing in front of the sink holding a pot in front of her. She was still as beautiful as he remembered but her hair had a few gray streaks.

"Hello, Tsunami-san. It's been a long time hasn't it?"

She turned around at the unfamiliar voice and gasped at who she saw. She recognized him immediately. Only one person had that hair and eye color, not to mention the whisker marks. Naruto Uzumaki had returned to the land of waves.


	3. Hidden in the Waves

Here's the next chapter

_**Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I know it's short but it's either short and fast or slow and long. I would like to thank Chris 2008 for helping me come up with ideas for this story and x-X-xDarkWolf x-X-x for being my beta.**_

**Timeline:**

**Day 1-Naruto leaves village and arrives at border of Land of Fire.**

**Day 2-Konoha 11 find out about Naruto's childhood, Naruto meets Itachi and arrives in Nami no Kuni.**

**Day 3-Naruto trains Inari**

**Day 4- Naruto does odd jobs around village and Itachi reports to Pein.**

_**This chapter picks up at the night of day 2 and covers the rest of the timeline.**_

In Tsunade's office 11young adults were crying. They had just been told about Naruto's childhood and how he had been treated by Konoha and Kyuubi. They couldn't believe what he had been through. He had been beaten, starved, and more by the villagers. They now understood just what they had done.

"There has to be a way we can get him back. I refuse to let him think we hate him." Sakura cried out.

"She's right. We need to figure out where he's gone and chase him down." said Kiba.

"I wish we could. Unfortunately, we can't spare the manpower, and besides, we don't even know where he's gone. We have no way to find him. Even if we do find him we'll just have to kill him. You know the laws regarding missing-nin. They're to be killed on sight. It's best to let him be and give him a chance to get away." explained Tsunade.

"But," Sakura started.

"No buts!" yelled Tsunade. "We have no other choice. As Hokage I order you to leave him alone. Anyone who goes after him will be stripped of their rank and exiled from the village." At their angry glares she continued. "Look, I want him back as much as you do but there's nothing for him here, no one he can truly trust. He would be alone and miserable."

"O.K. We'll let him go." Sasuke stated. The others paused before nodding in agreement.

"Good. I'll keep you updated on what he does. You're dismissed."

They filed out of the room and Tsunade sat down with her head on her desk. She cried until no more tears would come and then decided to drown her sorrows in sake, hoping to forget the pain her surrogate son had gone through and the decision she had made.

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"…And that's how I got here." Naruto finished, taking a sip of his now cold tea. After recognizing him Tsunami had quickly sat him at the table and begun fixing him a drink. He explained how he had come to be in Nami no Kuni , including the story of the Kyuubi. Tsunami looked horrified at the thought of Kyuubi, but quickly assured him it was at the thought of a child having to put p with such a vicious demon and not at Naruto himself. She offered him a room at her house as long as he needed it. He went back to the room and fell asleep quickly.

The next day he was woken by a large mass landing on top of him. He realized after several seconds that it was Inari. He had grown in the past 6 years. His hair was short and spiky with a green pair of goggles on top of his head. He was wearing black pants with an orange shirt. '_He'll be about thirteen now.' _thought Naruto.

"Nii-chan, you're back!" Inari shouted, hugging Naruto tightly." Guess what? I've been training since you left and I've gotten stronger and faster. I can throw shuriken and kunai and even learned the jutsu on the scroll you gave me the last time you came." After the incident with Zabuza and Haku Naruto had given a scroll containing the basic academy jutsu to Inari.

"Congratulations, Inari. I'll have to give you a test later to see if you're ready for more advanced techniques." Naruto smiled gently and put a hand on Inari's head, ruffling his hair. He loved Inari like a little brother and was happy to see him again.

"Come on, nii-chan. Let's go get breakfast now. I'm hungry." Inari complained.

"Alright, alright. Let me wash up first." Naruto made his way to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face and washed his hands. He and Inari made their way to the kitchen where Tsunami was serving food to Tazuna

"Ah, Naruto. It's so super to have you back. I hope you can stay a while. I know Inari is happy to have you here and we certainly don't mind having some extra company." Tazuna said.

"I don't know how long I'll be staying but I'll be staying here for at least a couple of days, if you don't mind.

"Of course not." Tsunami said. We'll put you up as long as you want. You don't have to worry about anything while you're here."

"Thank you, Tsunami-san."

They ate breakfast in a comfortable silence and Inari and Naruto went outside to test Inari's abilities. Inari demonstrated his abilities by performing the basic academy jutsu. He then threw kunai and shuriken at 10 targets and hit them all. He sparred with Naruto and although Naruto was holding back Inari did very well. Naruto gave him a scroll of water jutsu to practice and went to the house. He entered to find Tazuna gone and Tsunami cleaning dishes.

"Tsunami-san, do you know of any way I could earn some money?"

"I believe there are some people in the village who need some odd jobs done around their homes. I could recommend you if you don't mind doing chores."

"Thank you, Tsunami- san."

The rest of the day passed by without anything noticeable happening. They each followed a normal routine. Naruto was training, Inari was reading his scroll, and Tsunami was cooking and cleaning. Tazuna was off doing Kami-sama knows what. Naruto decided to get as many jobs as possible done the next day so he could replenish his wallet. He didn't want to stay too long as he would be putting Tazuna's family in danger.

The next day he spent doing all kinds of jobs. From rescuing cats to cleaning houses he did everything he could and used clones to do what he couldn't. It was like being a genin all over again. He made enough money to last him a couple months or so. He figured that was enough for now and knew it was almost time to leave. He chose to spend one last day and sneak out that night.

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While Naruto was busy in wave, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki appeared in the middle of a large room. They stood balanced on giant fingertips, part of the giant hand shaped statue that took most of the rooms space. 7 other shadowy figures stood waiting. Each was wearing a black cloak covered in red clods.

"Kisame, Itachi, why were you late arriving?"

"Please excuse our tardiness. We ran into an unexpected hindrance." Itachi explained.

"Explain." said Pein.

"I found the Kyuubi vessel and decided to confront him alone as he was unaccompanied. When I arrived at his hotel room he answered the door. After an exchange of words he attacked me. I was injured and decided to retreat. We had to travel slowly because of my injuries."

"Tell me. How could that brat have possibly injured you enough to warrant a retreat? You should have easily been able to capture him."

"He has changed. He is stronger. He even became a missing-nin. He moved so quickly I couldn't see him, even with my Sharingan activated. He managed to break two of my ribs. He was a risk I wasn't willing to take." Itachi finished.

"Very well. Your explanation is accepted. I wish for you to track down the Kyuubi and offer him a place among our ranks. His power cannot go to waste. He may be useful, and even if he isn't the demon will be in our possession.

"Of course, Pein-Sama."

The figures disappeared.


	4. An Offer He Can't Refuse

**I would like to explain a few things about this story before I begin the chapter. First of all it is AU. Naruto managed to retrieve Sasuke and bring him back to the village. He never left with Jiraiya and instead trained himself. Also, Gaara has changed in that he is more caring toward his siblings, but he still hates his village and they still hate him. He did not become Kazekage and instead Temari took the position. It's been four years since the Sasuke retrieval arc and they are all sixteen/seventeen. This places Inari as thirteen because I made him around nine the first time they met him. I'm sorry for not putting this earlier but I didn't think about it. **

Naruto quickly opened the window to his bedroom. He had just finished packing his few possessions before leaving. He was luck no one had come after him yet but he didn't want to push his luck. He refused to risk three of the people who actually cared about him.

He slipped out of window and into the night. He made his way towards a cliff on the edge of the village. He found the graves he was looking for and kneeled in front of them for a few minutes. He placed some flowers on the graves that he had bought on his way. Then he left with tears in his eyes, for what he had lost and what he had never had.

Naruto traveled toward Suna for the next few days. He made slow progress as he no longer felt the need to run everywhere. He was safe from Konoha hunter-nin and no other countries wanted him as far as he knew. His only problem was Akatsuki, but he felt confidant that he could take on anyone that came after him. His next big problem was the seal. He might be able to beat the Akatsuki but not without getting distracted enough for Kyuubi to be able to break free. He needed to fix the seal.

He determined to research seals while visiting Gaara in Sunagakure. He just hoped Temari would offer him sanctuary. If she didn't he would go to Kumo where no Konoha-nin would dare to follow.

Eventually he reached the desert and decided to travel through it by night. He made camp and looked up when he felt a familiar chakra. It was accompanied by a stronger but unfamiliar chakra. He could guess who it was though.

"Itachi-san, Kisame-san, you might as well come out already. I know you're there."

"I'm surprised, brat. Most people wouldn't be able to sense us so soon. You really have gotten stronger." Kisame said as the two moved away from the shadows.

"I should think so. It's been 4 years since we first met."

"Listen, gaki. The boss has decided he wants you to join us, so why don't you just come with us and make it easier on yourself.

"Normally, I don't agree with my partner, but in this case he's right. Once leader-sama decides he wants you to join, you will join, even if it's by force." Itachi said.

"You think you could actually force me to do anything I don't want to do? I'm stronger than you now and I have Kyuubi's chakra on my side. He may not like me but he'll help me if it helps him." Naruto was smirking.

"Naruto-kun, do you truly want to be hunted by us for the rest of your life? That's what will happen if you refuse us." Itachi explained.

After a pause Naruto replied, "Fine. I'll consider your offer, but only if I can bring a friend."

"I'm sure that will be acceptable as long as they are strong enough. Of course you'll both have to pass a test, but I'm sure that won't be a problem for you."

"Hopefully. I'll tell you of my decision fourteen days from now. Meet me here then.

Very well. Kisame, let's go. Oh, and Naruto-kun?" Naruto looked at him."Do make the right choice. It would be a shame to see such talent wasted." With a final 'see you later, gaki' from Kisame they were gone. Naruto sat there a few minutes as a plan began to form in his mind, one that could save many innocent lives. He decided to ask Gaara for his help in carrying out the plan.

Naruto spent the next two days traveling and reached Sunagaakure as night fell .He stole some of Kyuubi's chakra and forced it out of his body, hoping the demon in Gaara would feel it and tell his host. He knew what he was doing was extremely risky but he had no other choice. He needed help with his plan and Gaara was the best choice. Luckily, when he approached the gates of Suna a few minutes later, Gaara was standing there waiting for him.

He slowed and eventually stopped five feet away from Gaara. They stood, staring at each other, for five minutes while they sized each other up. Finally, Gaara smiled, a small one, but a smile all the same.

"It's been a long time, Naruto-san."

How many times have I told you to call me kun? It's too formal to calll me san, especially as we've been friends for four years."

"You're sstill the same person I met all those years ago. You never really change, do you?"

"You're the first person to say that in almost two weeks. Everyone else seems to think I've changed."

"That's because they don't know the real you. To them seeing the real you is like seeing a completely new person."

Gaara was right, of course. Until now the only people to know of Naruto's mask were the Third and the Sand siblings. Gaara had only found out after he had fully earned Naruto's trust. He had done this through the letters they had sent to each other after the Sand and Sound invasion. During their years of correspondence they had formed a strong bond and had become brothers in a way. The fact that they were both jinchuuriki just helped.

"Why are you here?" asked Gaara. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but it's unexpected."

And so Naruto explained what had happened to him, hoping that Gaara would let him speak to Temari about staying in Suna. Gaara listened silently; no emotions showed in his face. His sand however whirled around him, showing his anger.

"I can't believe you had to go through that," Gaara said angrily.

"Don't worry about it. The important thing is I got away. I no longer have to put up with their prejudice."

"At least we have that to be thankful for. I assume you came here to find sanctuary." Naruto nodded. "How long do you plan on staying?" Gaara asked.

"Only about ten days. Any longer might get you in trouble, not to mention I have a meeting about a proposition."

"What kind of proposition?"

"That's not something I can talk about here. I'll tell you later though because I need your opinion and a favor."

"Whatever it is you just need to ask."

Naruto nodded in thanks and they began the walk to the Kazekage tower. Temari was in her office when they arrived. She looked up and gasped when she saw Naruto. He just smiled and greeted her. She jumped up and ran over to him. He opened his arms to receive her hug when she suddenly hit him on the head.

"Itai! What was that for?"

"It was for not visiting in over two years!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you would miss me so much."

" I didn't miss you so much as I resented being completely ignored by my supposed friend."

"Temari," Gaara interrupted the conversation, before it turned into a fight, "As amusing as this would be to watch, I only came to ask if Naruto could have a temporary citizen's pass. I thought it would be faster to ask you than apply for one at the gates."

"Of course. How long are you staying here?" She looked at Naruto.

"Only about 10 days." Came the blonde's reply.

Temari returned to her desk and opened a random drawer before pulling out a piece of paper and quickly scribbling on it. She handed it to Naruto who looked it over. It gave him permission to stay in Suna for up to ten days. Naruto briefly wondered why Konoha didn't have such tight security. Suna, like most ninja villages, required that all citizens and visitors have paper work to prove that they were allowed to be there. If you applied for the papers and were found to be a potential threat, you wouldn't get the papers. If you snuck into the village and were found without paperwork you would be arrested and interrogated. Konoha was the exception to this rule in that they let anyone through unless they appeared to be dangerous. Most of the ninja villages laughed at Konoha's idea of security.

"Tahnks, Temari-san."

"Just call me Temari-nee-chan. You're like another little brother, anyway."

Naruto nodded his agreement and he and Gaara left the kage's office. They made their way towards Gaara's house. Once inside the guest bedroom where Naruto would be staying, the blonde put up seals to prevent anyone hearing or seeing anything in the room. They stood there in silence for several minutes, Gaara wondering what was wrong and Naruto wondering where to begin. Eventually Naruto began to talk, haltingly at first and gaining confidence as he continued. He laid out his plan, including how he wanted Gaara to help him. When he was done Gaara was looking at him as if he had grown a second head. He panicked a little bit, worried that Gaara wouldn't help him. Finally Gaara spoke.

"You really think this will work?"

"I'm almost positive."

Gaara thought about it for a few more moments. On the one hand it was incredibly dangerous, and they would both most likely die. On the other hand they could save so many lives, and besides, it looked like his friend was going through with it whether he helped or not. He had to help his friend. Naruto had helped him and now he would help Naruto. Wondering whether he had just forfeited his life for a nearly impossible plan, Gaara nodded.

"I'll help you." So caught up was he in Naruto's happiness that he didn't notice the slight glint of guilt in the bright blue eyes.

**Hopefully the plan of naruto's isn't so obvious that you all have guessed it completely. I'm sorry it took so long but I've been swamped with schoolwork and this medication I'm taking seems to drain the creativity and energy out of my body. It's all I can do to stay on top of school. Hopefully updates will come faster now that I'm adjusting. One last thing is that though it may seem Naruto has changed drastically in the past two chapter s from the first one, it's just that he has had time to cool down. His goal of konoha's destruction is still firmly in his mind.**


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